Returning To The Past
by dshortklutz
Summary: Future versions of Puck, Rachel and eventually Quinn, come back ten years to 2011 to stop a tragic event that destroyed their lives. How will they interact with their past selves and their classmates? What changes will be made by them being there. Starts before the events of season 2 episode, The Substitute.
1. Returning To The Past

Title: Return to The Past

Author: Debra

Rating: Teen

Summary: A time travel story. Future versions of Puck, Rachel and eventually Quinn, come back ten years to 2011 to stop a tragic event that destroyed their lives. How will they interact with their younger selves and the rest of New Directions? Will they succeed in saving someone close to them? Finchel, Quick.

AN: This is being reposted after I have made some changes and fixed grammar and spelling mistakes that were in the original story. I am hoping to get some work done on this story and another one that I have been working on, Medal of Honor, which will also be taken down and reposted after I fixed grammar and spelling errors when I finish with reposting the chapters that have already been written for this story.

I apologize for not updating my stories in a long time; I have been in school for two years now and haven't had the time. I am taking a ten week break from my school work and want to finally get back into writing again after taking a creative writing course last semester.

* * *

_**February 14th, 2021**_

_**Lima Ohio**_

Twenty six year old Rachel Berry stood in the town's only graveyard staring at a headstone that had faded in the ten years that it had been standing there. Tears filled her eyes as she took in the name on the stone.

_**Finn Christopher Hudson**_

_**1994-2011**_

_**Beloved son, brother and friend**_

The day he had been taken from all of them played over and over in her mind as the former members of New Directions, including Matt Rutherford, Will Schuester and his wife, Emma and Finn's mother Carole and her husband, Burt all stood beside her. The sobs coming from all of them carried across the cemetery as the pain of Finn's death was just as strong as it had been the day he had been so horribly taken from them.

When everybody else had left, Rachel was still standing there with Noah Puckerman and his wife, Quinn. That day had brought them back together as they had both banded together to keep Rachel from slowly killing herself in an effort to join the boy she had still loved with everything inside of her. They never had gotten back together after their horrible breakup because she cheated on him with Puck just to hurt him for lying about sleeping with Santana. They had never had the chance because three and a half months later, Finn had been taken from her. Trying to save her from being killed herself in a horrible accident caused by the actions of the one person she hadn't been able to forgive in close to ten years.

It was Noah and Quinn's exclamations of anger that drew Rachel back to reality and she turned to see Jacob Ben Israel walking towards them. He was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, his Jewfro long cut off into a more stylish manner.

"What the hell are you doing here, Ben Israel? You are the reason he's lying in the ground! Leave!" Rachel was hysterical as she told off the man who had been the cause of Finn being taken from them. It was everything Quinn and Puck could do to keep her from going for Jacob's throat.

"Wait! Hear me out! I can fix this! We can save him!"

"You heard her, Jewfro, leave or we will let her hurt you,' Quinn shot back at him nastily. She hated Jacob herself because her feelings for Finn had never died and they had been close to getting back together the day he died. She had since admitted to herself that it would have never worked because Finn had still been hurting over Rachel kissing Puck; especially when he had died saving Rachel from a falling light in the auditorium that Jacob had accidently sent falling to the stage in his quest to stalk Rachel.

The love between Finn and Rachel had been more powerful than anything she had ever seen because Rachel had stayed single for ten years. None of the guys that the rest of them, including Finn's mother, had set her up had been good enough for her. All she wanted was Finn back, so Rachel merely existed, because instead of going to Julliard or another performing arts college, Rachel had changed her career path to working towards a career in medicine. Where she was due to graduate from medical school and starts her internship in five months here in Lima. Without him, the loud and arrogant girl had become an emotionally shattered woman who quit New Directions that very day, vowing to never sing again.

"I have a way to go back and save Finn. To make right what my selfish actions caused. Please hear me out and then if you don't believe what I am telling you then I will let Puckerman hit me because I deserve it, "Jacob begged, falling to his knees with tears falling from his eyes.

"Get up." Rachel's voice was harsh as she spoke to him. "You have five minutes and after that, you are leaving, even if Noah has to drag you out of here."

"What I caused to happen to Finn has stayed with me for ten years and five years ago, I met a man named Dr. Jace McKenzie. He was working on a machine that could take a person back to a certain place in time."

"Get the fuck out of here, Jacob! Time travel isn't real!" Noah was furious and ready to kill the man who had taken his best friend away from him.

"Yes it is! I have tried it, Puck. The only catch is it takes you back to three months before the event you want to stop happens and you can't use the button that brings you back until you have done what you set out to do." Jacob turned to face Rachel, who was staring at him in disbelief. "I wouldn't lie about this, Rachel. You can go back and save him. You could even prevent the events that led to your break up and make things right with him. It works and Dr. McKenzie is waiting for you and whoever you choose to take with you because the machine only fits two people."

"Fine, take me to meet this doctor."

"Rachel, please don't tell me that you believe this shit!"

"Noah, I want Finn back and if Jacob's doctor can bring him back to us, I want to try and if die then I will be with Finn again either way. I am doing this."

Rachel turned and followed Jacob out the graveyard while Quinn and Puck exchanged a look of disbelief.

"Go with her, Puck and **if **Jacob is right and that machine works, she is going to need you to keep her from doing something stupid."

Puck kissed his wife gently on the lips, savoring her touch because he had a feeling it would be awhile before he saw her again. He then followed Rachel to Jacob's car, hoping that this quest wouldn't cause his friend more than she had already suffered.

* * *

_**November 14 2010**_

_**Right before the events of The Substitute**_

Finn Hudson was walking down the hall of McKinley high school, going to the locker of his girlfriend, Rachel. He could see her standing there looking beautiful in a red dress that looked amazing on her. But before he could get over to where she was standing, somebody shoved him into an empty classroom and slammed the door closed behind him.

When he finally got over the shock of being pushed into the room, Finn noticed the person standing beside the door. It was his friend, Puck but something wasn't right with him, even as slow as he could be, it was clear that something was wrong with his friend.

Movements in the corner of the room made him turn his head to face a young woman stepping out of the darkened corner of the classroom. He felt himself go pale in shock as the face of the girl he loved stood before him but this wasn't his Rachel. She was out in the hall, waiting for him by his locker. He was losing his mind and seeing the girl he loved in this beautiful woman in front of him. He was going to go with that but then the woman opened her mouth to speak.

"You aren't going crazy, Finn. It's me, Rachel just not yours. I'm from the future."

At that moment, Finn Hudson passed out onto the floor, hitting his head on a chair on the way down.


	2. Fixing A Mistake

AN: The future version of Rachel will become known as Rae from this moment on and the future Puck will be called by his first name, Noah.

* * *

The future version of Rachel rushed to Finn's side, panicking at the sight of him hitting his head on that desk. Her medical training instantly kicked in as she checked his breathing and pulse rate. As she was checking his pupils, he started to move around and wake up. A look of desire came into his unfocused eyes at the sight of her and it was everything she could do to stop him from kissing her; to feel his sweet lips on hers for the first time in ten years.

"Hold it. I'm not your Rachel and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't appreciate you kissing another girl, even if it is a future version of her."

"Puck, please tell me that you don't believe this. There is no such thing as time travel."

Noah walked away from the door where he had been keeping watch and knelt down next to the best friend he had lost years ago.

"I'm not the Puck you know, Finn. Glance out in the hall and you'll see him and your Rachel anxiously looking for you."

He helped Finn stand up and they both walked over to the window that showed the hallway. Finn gulped at the sight of a younger version of the man standing beside him and the Rachel he had just been staring at before being pulled into this room, glancing around anxiously.

"Let them in here. They need to know about mine and Noah's presence and to help figure how to explain to others who we are. One piece of advice, Finn, Rachel deserves to know the truth about you and Santana before she does it for you and puts the worse possible spin on it. If you let Santana tell her, your relationship will never recover from it."

Finn could see the tears in the future Rachel's eyes and realized that this was real. He could see the pain and sadness in her beautiful dark eyes and wondered what had happened in the future to make her look like this.

"How do I tell her without her breaking up with me?"

"Trust me, Finn. She won't break up with you and don't go with her to Ms. Pillsbury for couples counseling, it will be a disaster because she will make things worse for you than they already are. Be honest with Rachel about why you slept with Santana in the first place. Oh and do a better job of defending her from the crap that she and the others Glee club members likes to spew in her direction. It makes her feel horrible about herself every time you do nothing when Santana treats her so badly."

"Now that you have made changes to the future other than the ones we came here for, maybe we can get started on what we need to do. I have a wife to get back to and you owe me big time for this, Rae"

Finn watched them in shock before going to the door and opening it to reveal Rachel and Noah standing out in the hall, getting ready to open the door. He motioned for them to come into the room with him. They reluctantly followed him and they both stopped short at the sight of Rae and Noah.

"Finn, you better not be playing a prank on us." Rachel sounded irritated at him as she placed her hands on her hips.

"He isn't playing a prank on you, Rachel." Noah stated, walking over to stand beside Rae.

"You are not seeing things. I am you or you ten years from now. So we won't get mixed up, call me Rae."

"How do I know that you are really me?" Rachel's voice was full of doubt.

Rae smirked at her before replying to her younger self's question.

"We have a heart shaped birthmark between our navel and our female parts, which only our doctors and the people who changed our diapers have ever seen."

Rachel blushed beat red as wicked smirks came over both Finn and Puck's faces. Noah just looked at his future counterpart with a serious look on his face.

"Rae, you are embarrassing the poor girl. Can we get on with this so we can figure out how to get through the next three months?"

"Why are you here?" Puck asked his voice serious for once.

"Something happens three months from now that will devastate mine and Noah's world and we are here to stop it."

"What?" Rachel asked quietly. A look of suspicion had come into her dark eyes.

"We can't tell you that or it would ruin the rest of what should happen during this time," Rae said.

"We need to come up with a story of how two people that look so much like Rachel and Puck but ten years older are here in Lima."

"May I tell our fathers about you? They should be able to help come up with a story to explain your presence here, Rae."

"That will work. Noah should be able to pretend to be a distant family member of Puck's dad. One that his mom doesn't know," Rae stated, before turning to look at Rachel. "The only ones we want to know about this will be our dads, Mr. Schuester and the glee club. Nobody else can know that we are here from the future."

Everybody nodded in agreement before Puck and Noah started to leave the room and Finn held his hand out for Rachel to leave with him. Rae placed a hand on both of their shoulders while sharing a significant look with Noah.

"I need the two of you to stay with me for a few minutes. There is something important that the three of us need to discuss." The tone of her voice was almost pleading as Rae watched Noah and Puck leave the room while Finn and Rachel stayed with her, holding hands and looking at Rae with curiosity.

"Rachel, tell him the truth about Jesse, he has a right to hear this."

Rachel's eyes became wider than they already were before turning to look at Finn with tears filling her eyes.

"I never had sex with Jesse. I lied to you so you wouldn't find out that I couldn't go through with it because he wasn't you. That even when I was with him, you were still in my heart."

Rae gently reached over and squeezed Rachel's hand before turning to look at Finn. He had a joyful but apprehensive look on his face because he knew what was coming next.

"It's time to tell her the truth, Finn. Tell her about what we talked about before she came in here. It'll be okay. Trust me."

Finn took Rachel's hand and exchanged a look with Rae before taking a deep breath and finally telling the truth.

"I lied to you, too. I had sex with Santana that night."

Rachel pulled her hand away from him and started to rush out of the room, sobbing uncontrollably. It was only Rae's voice that stopped her.

"Rachel, if you leave this room and don't give him a chance to explain what really happened, you will regret it."

Rachel turned around and walked back over to where Rae and Finn were standing, her arms wrapped around her body in a protective manner and tears falling down her cheeks.

"It meant nothing to me. She was nothing to me. I regretted it the moment it happened because she wasn't you. I wish I would have waited for you but you were with Jesse and planning on having sex with him. I was jealous and did something stupid in an effort not to think about you and St. Jackass."

"Do you want to go to Miss Pillsbury for couple's counseling?" Rachel asked softly.

"No, don't do that, Rachel," Rae stated. "She can't even handle her own love life, how can she advise anybody else on theirs."

"You know something about this, don't you?" Rachel asked Rae, a suspicious look on her face.

"In my time, Santana told the truth in an effort to break the two of you up and cause trouble. She succeeded in taunting Rachel so badly that she did something so stupid and thoughtless that it hurt Finn and you never made things right between you." Rae looked at Rachel with a haunted look and it gave the younger girl and her boyfriend chills to see it. "I am you without Finn and I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody. Don't give up on your relationship because it is worth more than anything you will ever have and when you lose it, the pain never goes away."

Rae turned and walked out of the room, leaving Finn and Rachel alone in the empty classroom. He held his arms out to her and she rushed into them, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Are we worth fighting for, Rach?" he murmured softly against the top of her head.

"Yes," she whispered.

He leaned down and softly kissed her, getting lost in her and the feel of her lips moving against his. Rae watched them through the window as new memories started to flood through her mind. The ones of the breakup that would have taken place two weeks from now were gone. But the ones of mourning Finn were still there so his death was still going to happen if she didn't figure out how to stop it.

* * *

AN: With every event, Rae and Noah change their memories of the future and their bodies will change too to reflect the different timeline. I am still trying to decide how to deal with the events of Special Education now that Rachel already knows about Santana and Finn.


	3. Mr Schuester Finds Out

AN: Future Rachel is Rae in this story and future Puck is Noah, so the other characters can tell who they are talking to. Noah, who has lived ten years without his best friend, is more mature and serious than his younger counterpart. While Rae, who has been without Finn for ten years is hardened, tough and has a low bullshit tolerance. She will clash with Santana and the Quinn of this time while showing Rachel by example how to stand up for herself. I am trying to decide if Rachel would still consider medicine instead when she sees Rae uses the skills she has learned in medical school or have it be Finn who sees it and decides to take on medicine as a career instead, despite how difficult it will be for him.

* * *

Rae continued to stand outside the classroom door watching through the window as Finn and Rachel continued to quietly talk. As she stood gazing at the couple, Mr. Schuester came walking by, caught sight of the couple in the room and then got a good look at Rae's face.

"What the hell!"

"Mr. Schue, it isn't what it looks like," Rae quietly pleaded.

"Who the hell are you and why do you look like Rachel Berry?"

"Because I am Rachel but not yours," Rae said quietly. "I am from ten years in the future."

"Time travel isn't real so either you give me a better story than that or I am calling the police."

"Just step into the room with me and we'll talk to your Rachel and Finn. They know who I am and why I am here."

Will then gasps in shock at the sight of both versions of Puck walking towards him, and glanced at the Rachel in front of him and the one in the class room. He took a deep breath as if to keep himself from passing out before starting to speak.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here but I believe you. All four of us are going to join Finn and that Rachel inside the classroom and all of you are going to explain to me why there are two Puck's and Rachel's walking around."

They all went into the room and made sure the door was closed. Rae turned to Noah with a serious look on her face.

"Keep a watch on that door for Coach Sylvester and make sure she or Becky isn't listening. If she hears about this, that woman can cause some serious trouble for the both of us and we definitely don't need to deal with her bullshit right now."

Puck, Will, Finn and Rachel all stare at Rae in shock at the profanity that has just come out of her mouth. Their Rachel never said things like that; they all exchanged a look and wondered just what had happened to change her so drastically that she cursed.

"Now why are you both here? What happens in the future that you feel the need to be here?"

Will's tone was serious and his arms were crossed over his chest as he watched the five people with him glance at each other before the 'future' Rachel started to speak.

"First, you need to call me Rae so you won't cause confusion by calling us both Rachel." She points at Noah, who is wearing a white Polo shirt and Khakis. "We need to call him Noah and we'll tell everybody that Puck was named after him or something like that. You and the rest of New Directions are the only ones that I want to know who Noah and I are. We also need to get jobs here at McKinley."

"Hold it!" Will exclaimed, he now knew that young woman was Rachel because she had her ability to talk a mile a minute without pausing. "Why do the two of you need jobs here?"

"Because one of you in this room is going to die in two months and Noah and I are here to stop it!" Rae snapped at him before she could stop herself. Her hands went to her mouth, shock appearing in her dark eyes.

Finn stepped forward, his voice almost shaking as he started to speak. He felt Rachel beside him, she had taken his hand in hers and he could feel her trembling.

"It's me, isn't it? That's why you are here? You told my Rachel that you are who she will become when she loses me. What the hell happens to me?"

"I can't tell you that, Finn. I have told you too much, all I can say is that Noah and I are here to make damn sure that it doesn't happen." She walked over and touched his cheek softly, tears starting to fill her eyes and fighting not to get lost in the beautiful face that she had longed to touch again for the past ten years. Rae glanced over at Rachel, who was trembling in fear and clinging onto Finn's hand. "I promise the both of you; I **will **stop what happened before from happening again."

The bell rang for the end of classes and they all quietly watched as the halls filled with students. A fierce glare came over Rae's face at the sight of Jacob walking past the door and it was only Noah grabbing her around the waist that prevented her from killing the little stalker right then and there.

"He's isn't worth it, all you can do is prevent the damage he caused before," he harshly whispered in her ear.

"Rachel, Finn, Puck, get to your next classes. I want to talk to Rae and Noah in private."

The three teenagers reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind them. Will turned to look at Rae, a stern look on his face, which didn't have quite the same effect on them as it used to. Now that they were both only a few years younger than what he was now.

"Why did you get so angry at the sight of Jacob Ben Israel walking past this room? Finn and Rachel were too shaken by the fact he could die in two months to notice the look of rage come into your eyes when you saw him, but I did. What does that little stalker do to cause Finn to die?"

As Rae recounts the story to Will, his eyes grow wide with every word of her story. He glances over at the future version of Puck and wonders if the death of his best friend is what makes him more serious and dressed more conservative then the sixteen year old Noah Puckerman.

"Maybe you could give me a clue as to what happens during Sectionals so I will know the right decisions to make."

Rae smirked at younger version of her former teacher and exchanged a look with Noah, who stepped forward and finally added something to the conversation.

"I never thought you would ever contemplate doing something sneaky just to win Sectionals. Noah commented, for the first time proving that he was definitely that this was an older version of Puck, just more mature and with a lot more self-control. "Let's just say that you shouldn't use the same entrance used last year at Sectionals and Regionals. Also don't put Sam and Quinn on the duet; it will be what gives us a tie with Dalton because Time of My Life doesn't fit their voices at all. Finn and Rachel are your go to singers in competitions for a reason. Also do a better job of standing up for Rachel because the others will give her hell that week but leave Santana to Rachel. She is going to do something in that classroom that Rachel will have to learn to deal with on her own and I am pretty sure this Rachel is going to teach her how to do it. Oh she does do a very good job on 'Valerie' but still have Mercedes and Tina learn the words because if I know Santana, she will show her ass in the Green Room at Sectionals, if she does take the solo from her right then and there. Because if you still let her sing that song and we win, her ego will be out of control. "

"You have given me a lot to think about. Now how do we figure out how to explain your presence here to the rest of the school?"

"We will let the rest of the Glee Club and Rachel's dads exactly who we are because we have to come up with a cover story. The rest of the school, Coach Sylvester in particular, isn't to know that we are from the future. I seriously don't want to deal with her crap," Rae commented from where she had taken Noah's place at the door.

"Given your reaction to Sue, you don't like her, do you Rae?"

"No, I don't." Rae bit out. Her fists clenching in anger at the thought of the cheerleading coach, memories of how the woman had allowed Finn's killer to go free.

Her tone was bitter and Will had a feeling that there was a story behind her dislike of the Cheerleading coach. That Sue does something to turn Rachel and Noah, from the hardened look on his face, against her.

"What did her future counterpart do to make the both of you hate her so much?"

"Let's just say the person who is responsible for our Finn's death is walking around a free man because of her. Her hatred of the Glee Club was more important than seeing Finn's killer go to prison. And she succeeded because I never performed again unless Noah and Quinn drag me out to bars to sing karaoke. The club fell apart after that because after losing Finn, I wanted nothing more to do with music and singing and the others weren't as into it either."

"So you are saying Sue, in your time, used Finn's death to finally get the Glee Club disbanded?"

"Yes," Noah said, angrily. "We were all devastated and broken. Rae locked herself in her room, refusing to come to school for over a week. She had lost her passion for singing and when Rae came back; her focus was on her studies and determined to become a doctor. She wanted to become like the doctor that fought to save Finn's life and had to be ordered to stop because there wasn't any hope. So in the state of mind we were all in, it was very easy for Sue Sylvester to get away with preventing the person who had caused Finn's death from being charged because of some bullshit technicality."

Before Will can respond, the door opens and Rachel steps into the room, you can see Finn and Puck behind her out in the hallway. Mr. Schuester could tell that she has heard every word of their conversation. Her face is flushed with anger and there are matching looks on Finn and Puck's faces as well.

"It's time for Glee, Mr. Schuester. We need to go on ahead and get there before the others so we can put Rae and Noah into your office. Finn and Puck brought a couple of their hoodies so everybody doesn't see two of me and two of Puck walking down the hall."

The hoodies were handed to Rae and Noah while Will left the classroom on his way to Glee. The three teenagers stayed behind to walk with Rae and Noah, who had their heads covered and kept their faces aimed towards the floor. Finn took Rachel's hand in his and held his other arm out for Rae to loop her hand through it, smiling gently at her as shock came into her dark eyes.

One of the things he and Rachel had talked about before Mr. Schue had interrupted them was the effect of losing him had taken on Rae. So they were in agreement that if his presence could help her future version in any way, within limits of course, but he would be there for the other Rachel when needed.

Rae smiled as she placed her hand on Finn's arm, glancing over at her younger version and knew exactly what they were up to. The memory had popped into her head the second it is had been discussed. It had just thrown her for a moment to see them actually do it. For the young woman she had been during this point in time to let another girl, even if it is a future version of herself, be this close to her boyfriend was showing just how much things had already were starting to change because of her presence here. She just hoped that any changes didn't significantly change who ended up with who because Noah will kill her if something happened to change the fact that he had finally gotten Quinn back from Sam. The next two months were going to be an insane ride for all of them.


	4. Rae vs Santana

Rae and Noah were in Mr. Schue's office as Finn, Rachel and Puck sat down in the choir room. Mr. Schue closed both doors and put a cloth over each of them to keep any prying eyes from looking inside. He turned around to see everybody but the three students who had just sat down starting at him, wondering what was going on.

He walked over to face his students and hoped that he didn't sound crazy once everything that had happened was explained.

"This morning, three of your classmates met two very interesting people that have something to tell all of us. What you are about to hear will sound crazy and very hard to believe but I need all of you to listen to what is said. It is a matter of life and death."

As soon as those final words left Will's mouth, he looked over at Finn and Rachel, who were clinging to each other's hand. It had to have been very difficult for both of them to know that unless something was changed, Finn would die and Rachel would give up on a career on Broadway to become a doctor; to become the guarded and tough young woman he had just met ten minutes before.

"Why don't you tell us what is going on so we can get on with rehearsal? That way Rachel can annoy us just by speaking."

Before Mr. Schue could reprimand Santana for her harsh words, a familiar voice came from the direction of his office. He groaned in agitation and knew that the coming confrontation wasn't going to be pretty. The Rachel he had met from the future had a very low bullshit tolerance. He had a feeling that Santana was about to face off with somebody who wasn't afraid to call what Santana called 'keeping it real' as a bunch of crap and only an excuse for her to be a hateful bitch to her classmates.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you!"

Everybody in the class watched in stunned silence as Rae came out of the office with Noah right behind her; both of them were glaring harshly at Santana. They all glanced between the Rachel sitting with Finn and the young woman who had just come out of Mr. Schue's office, then over to where Puck was turned glaring at Santana in the same manner that his look-alike was.

"Nice trick, Puckerman," Santana commented before looking at Rae with narrowed eyes. "Talk to me like that again Rupaul and I will show you how we do things in Lima Heights."

"Talk about either one of us in that manner or refer to us by any of your hateful names and I will show you what me and my black belt in several forms of martial arts will do to your face. I'm not the Rachel you know; I'm from ten years in the future. Oh and don't pull that Lima Heights Adjacent shit on me because I know all about you and the fact that your Daddy is doctor that makes five times what Mr. Schue makes in a year. Oh and let me tell you one other thing, I don't think he will like finding out about that tramp stamp you have on your lower back or that you have started a collection of sex toys that would make a porn star happy."

"How the..."

"Let's just say that if I accomplish what Noah and I are here to do, the events that led up to me finding all of that out will never happen."

Everybody in the room could see by the look on Rae's face that sometime in the future, Santana and Rachel end up having sex. Rachel slapped Finn on the arm at the grin that came over his face as he pictured his tiny girlfriend and the Latina he had lost his virginity to actually having sex while the other boys, with the exception of Kurt and Mr. Schue did the same thing.

"Why are you here?" Quinn spoke up, unable to take her eyes off of the more mature Noah Puckerman. She couldn't explain it but there was something about him that appealed to her.

"One of you in this room, well except for Rachel and Puck, will die and I am here to stop it from happening."

All eyes in the room immediately glanced at Finn because they all knew that he was the only person that Rachel Berry would do something this crazy for.

:"How long?" Kurt asked, fighting to control the flood of emotions going through him. His crush on Finn had ended but because of the growing relationship between his dad and Finn's mom, Kurt had started to see him as a brother.

"Valentine's Day," Noah said.

"The moment when New Directions fell apart and all of us lost the one person that kept the team together."

Rae and Noah looked over at the doorway from where the voice had come from and saw the Quinn from their time standing there. She was wearing her old cheerleading uniform and frowning at her husband and Rae.

"Q, what are you doing here?" Noah asked his wife, smiling gently at her.

"You've lost your mind, Noah Puckerman if you thought I was going to let you do this by yourself. I forced Jacob to send me back here too."

"Great, now we have two Quinn's as well. Are the rest of us from the future going to show up now?" Santana sarcastically stated. "Well except for Finn, given that he is dead."

Before anybody could stop them, both Rae and the Quinn from the future had moved towards Santana and the former had her pinned to floor, ready to punch her in the mouth.

"Shut your mouth, bitch," Rae bit out, rage filling her dark eyes. "Unless you watch someone you love die right in front of you, you have no reason to talk."

Before Santana could respond, Rae was pulled off her by Finn and future Quinn was pulled away by Noah to keep her from finishing what Rae had started. Both women were taken out of room with Rachel following them while Mr. Schue glared at Santana.

"That was uncalled for, Santana. If you make another comment like that in this classroom again, any chance of you having a solo at Sectionals is gone."

Santana stormed out of the room, leaving her remaining teammates to wonder what was going on and how they were going to deal with the fact that there were now two of Rachel, Puck and Quinn.


	5. Meaningful Discussions

Later that night, Rae was at the Berry's, sitting in the basement with Noah and their Quinn, who had decided to go by her first name, Lucy. They were going to talk about the next step they needed to take to keep Finn from dying.

Rachel's dads had gasped in shock at the sight of two Rachel's until their Rachel had explained what was going on. The two men hadn't believed her until Rae took both men into the kitchen and showed them the birthmark.

After that, Hiram and LeRoy had left for their business trip and left Rae in charge. They had also allowed her, Noah and Lucy to stay in the two remaining bedrooms located in their home as long as they needed them. After her dads had left, Rachel had taken Finn up to her bedroom so they could talk in private, while the other three had gone into the basement so they could plan what they were going to do next

"Okay, now that we are back in 2010, how do we keep Finn from dying?" Noah asked, sitting down beside his wife and holding her hand.

"I don't understand why Rae and I still remember him being hit by that sandbag and everything else that happened? Finn telling Rachel the truth about him and Santana has prevented their breakup because my memories of…."

Lucy paused in what she was about to say, she come close to revealing more than she had wanted to about what happened between her and Finn right before he was killed.

"You and Finn making out in the auditorium dressing room are still there along with new memories now that the breakup has been prevented," Rae quietly said.

Noah looked over at his wife, waiting for her to respond to Rae's comments. He had known about Quinn cheating on Sam and making out with Finn on the day he had died but that Rae had known about it was a surprise to him.

"How did…"

"How did I know? Jacob took great pleasure in telling me about the two of you being in that room and what you were doing after I had rejected another one of his perverted offers. He told me that I would regret it and walked away, it was only a few minutes later that sandbags started falling on the stage. I was dodging them and screaming for somebody to help me when Finn came running from backstage and pushed me out of the way only to have one of them hit him instead. So in the end, Finn left you and saved my life. He might have been confused, hurt and angry over what had happened with me and Puck but deep down, I know we would have eventually worked things, if it wasn't for Jacob and his obsession with me."

Rae all of a sudden felt her memories once again change and knew that something important was happening upstairs between her past self and Finn. Something that would change things for all of them and make this situation a lot more complicated.

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed since Rae, Noah and Lucy had come back to 2010 and their presence had inadvertently changed some of the events that had happened before.

Will had still ended up getting sick from when Sue had Lauren Zizes sneeze on him. Miss Holliday had still ended up being the substitute after Santana had once again tried to attack Rachel, who had still tried to run the club in Mr. Schue's absence and had proceeded to piss everybody off again. Rae had ended up putting Santana in headlock and told her in very blunt terms that if she tried that again, she would call the cops and have her charged with attempted assault. That she had meant it when she had told everybody that open season on Rachel was over and that she needed to learn to control her fucking temper.

Miss Holliday had quickly accepted that Rae, Noah and Lucy were relatives of Rachel, Puck and Quinn who were helping Mr. Schue with the Glee Club. Rachel didn't like her relaxed manner of handling the club but unlike the last time, it was both Rae and Miss Holliday that told her she needed to lighten up and learn to have some fun.

This time though, Rae had prevented Mr. Figgins from getting sick by making sure that Lauren was sent home to recover. She didn't want that woman being the Principal like she had been in the past.

Another thing that had changed was what happened with Kurt and Karofsky. After a very heated encounter with Rae where he had been told that she knew his secret and that if anything happened to Kurt, she would make sure that everybody knew it was him that did it and why. He had tried to use his size to intimidate her and to his surprise, he had come out on the losing end of the fight. Rae broke his nose and jaw with a combination of karate moves that had sent him to the floor in pain. To keep from having to admit that he had been beaten up by a woman that was only five foot 2 and a little over a hundred pounds, Dave had lied to his parents that he had tripped and fell face first onto the floor.

Santana had witnessed the fight and decided that after witnessing that and remembering the strong headlock that Rae had put her in, it would be in her best interest to leave Rachel alone because Rae would kick her ass. However that didn't last very long.

* * *

It was right before the wedding of Burt and Carole that things had come to a head between Santana and Rachel. After the latter had gotten tired of seeing all of the other couples being so happy together, especially Artie and Brittany, she had snapped. Although instead of going after the couple that she really wanted to, Santana had went after Finn and Rachel. The one she knew that would be vulnerable to her because of the fact she had been Finn's first.

The members of New Directions were in the choir room, preparing to rehearse 'Marry You,' when all hell broke loose.

Rae, Noah and Lucy were watching the others prepare for the performance when Finn and Rachel shared a tender kiss as he had lifted her up into his arms during their part of the song.

"Why don't the two of you cut it out with that disgusting mating ritual you have going on and actually perform the fucking song the way you are supposed to," Santana snapped at them both.

Before Rae could say a word to the girl, Rachel stepped away from Finn with a look of irritation on her face.

"Shut up, Santana! For once, keep your opinions to yourself and leave the rest of us alone," Rachel snapped back at her.

Everybody in the room got real quiet and waited for the inevitable fireworks that were about to happen. Nobody, except Rae, had talked to Santana that way and had gotten away with it.

"I know you didn't just talk to me like that, manhands."

Noah put his hand on Rae to keep her from going into attack mode when Rachel walked over and got right up into Santana's face.

"Yes, I did. Why don't you stop being so jealous of everybody else being in a relationship and actually admit that you hate the fact that Brittany and Artie are a couple. You aren't the only one who can 'keep it real' around here," she said, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Oh really, well did your little sweetheart tell you about the night we got it on?"

Rachel paused and stepped back from Santana and finally noticed that everybody in the room was watching both her and Santana. All of them seemed very anxious to see her reaction to Santana's revelation, including their three visitors from the future.

A horrible realization had come over Rachel at the knowledge that everybody else in the room from her time had known exactly what Santana was talking about. Hurt filled her at the thought that her teammates had hated her so much that they had known about Finn and Santana and didn't give a shit about her feelings. That they had probably laughed at her for being stupid enough to believe Finn when he had told her that he hadn't slept with Santana. She pushed aside those feelings long enough to deal with Santana and let her know that her plan to cause trouble between her and Finn wasn't going to work, this time.

"Finn already told me about the two of you, especially the fact that it didn't mean anything to him. It seems that he realized a little too late that sex without having strong feelings for the other person isn't what he wants."

"He told you?"

"Yes he did, so any hope you had of using that to cause Finn and I pain just backfired."

Rachel turned away from her and started to leave the classroom before turning to fire one final verbal shot at Santana.

"Oh and just so you know, Finn and I had sex two weeks ago and unlike your little encounter, he actually felt something after it was over."

She walked out with Finn running after her while the others in the room gave Santana censuring looks before leaving as well. Everybody except Rae, that is. She stood there smirking at Santana and enjoyed the fact that Rachel had finally stood up to the girl who had taken great pleasure in making her life a living hell.

"Did it even occur to you that I would make sure Finn told my past self about the two of you? The Santana I know would have realized that and not pulled the stunt you just did. Did you honestly think you could break them up?"

"If you hadn't of put your big nose into it, she would have dumped him," Santana heatedly shot back at Rae.

"Actually it didn't play out like that the first time around. In fact, I was willing to fight for my relationship with Finn but after you wouldn't leave it alone and had to continue to be a nosy ass mega bitch from hell and got me so emotionally upset that I did the stupidest thing I could have ever done, he broke up with me," Rae said, clenching her fists in anger as the memories of Santana taunting her every chance she got in the days before Sectionals and losing Finn because of the other girl being a hateful bitch. It was everything she could do not to make this version of Santana to pay for it by kicking her teeth down her throat. "Besides, this isn't about Finn and Rachel, is it?"

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

"I think you forget that I am from the future, Santana. I know all about your feelings for Brittany and the fact that you are so far in the closet, it isn't even funny."

"Shut your fucking mouth, bitch. If somebody hears you say that, I will end you."

"One, I know that you saw me kick Karofsky's ass so don't even go there. Two, it isn't my place to tell your secret to anybody. Three, leave Artie and Brittany alone and let things play out the way they are supposed to. Do you think that you are impressing Brittany with your behavior? I saw her face when she left just now. She is very hurt by how you are acting and is just as angry with you as the rest of us are."

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical on your part, telling me to let things play out with Artie and Brittany while your presence here is most and likely changing everything that was supposed to happen to Finn and Rachel?"

"Yes it is but I have good intentions and all I am changing is what happens to them and nobody else. You are trying to purposely cause pain where ever you go because you won't admit that you are a lesbian and that you are in love with Brittany. Stop taking your misery out on everybody else. I'm not saying that coming out will be easy for you because I would be lying if I did. You might even get rejected by some of the people that you love because of it. I'm just saying that taking all of your misery out on other people isn't going to make you feel better at all and if you piss off the wrong person with this crap, you might get the shit stomped out of you. Hell maybe you are meant to drive a wedge between Brittany and Artie, maybe you aren't but do you want to take the chance of losing even her friendship if you try to come between them."

At that, Rae turned and left the room, hoping to find Finn and Rachel. She had seen Rachel's face when she had realized that her teammates had known about Finn and Santana and that they had kept it from her. She hoped that this wouldn't cause the breakup to still happen and that was why hers and Lucy's memories of Finn dying still remained.

* * *

Finn stood in the doorway of Rachel's bedroom, watching as she lay sobbing on her bed. He didn't know how to fix the damage that had been done by Santana or what to say to comfort her.

"Finn, go downstairs with Noah while we talk to her, "Rae said as she and Lucy walked past Finn and into Rachel's bedroom.

"Rae…"

"As upset as she is right now, Rachel might not want to talk to you right now. Let us calm her down and try to fix the damage that was done," Lucy quietly said to him before closing the bedroom door in his face.

"Come on, Finn. Let them talk to her and we can use the XBOX 360 that Puck let me borrow. Let's see if I can still kick your ass at Call of Duty: Black Ops."

"You never kicked my ass when we played that," Finn shot back at the future version of his best friend.

"Yes, I did."

"No, you didn't."

Rae and Lucy listened through the doorway until Finn and Noah's voice had faded while they walked downstairs, smiling at how happy Noah sounded. He had missed his best friend in the ten years since his death.

Their smiles faded as they turned to face Rachel, who had now stopped crying and was watching them. Lucy and Rae walked over and sat on either side of her, each woman unsure of what to say to her.

"In your past, how did you handle the fact that everybody else knew about Santana and Finn and that they didn't tell you?"

"It was bad on so many levels. Kurt let it slip during a break at Sectionals that he and the others had known and it led to an argument between me and my Finn in the green room at Sectionals that Santana had to butt in on. She made it very clear that nobody in Glee club liked me and that they only wanted me for my voice. Finn gave me hell for getting mad about it because we weren't even a couple when it had happened between them. He acted like I wasn't supposed to be hurt that he sacrificed his virginity to a girl who admitted that she'd had mono so many times, she was now a carrier; that if the lie had continued, he could have put me at risk for anything she might have gave him. It was like he had no regard for my safety or feelings."

"I can't go back into the choir room and face them. I know that I can be arrogant and say things the wrong way in an effort to help but for all of them to take pleasure out of the pain that secrets like that can cause, makes me sick of every last one of them."

"Reminds me of when you were the only one that had the guts to tell Finn that he wasn't Beth's father while everybody else in that room, well except Mr. Schue, knew what was going on," Lucy commented. "You would think we all would have learned our lesson after that.

Rae and Rachel both flushed in embarrassment as they remembered that their intentions hadn't been completely altruistic when they had told Finn that piece of information. All of them in New Directions had come close to paying the price for that secret when Finn had quit the Glee club, angry and hurt over the lies he had been told by his girlfriend and best friend, along with the fact that the people he thought were his friends had known the truth and hadn't told him.

"Rachel, as much as you want to make them suffer for this, two wrongs don't make a right. If they lose Sectionals then the Glee Club is over. Do you really want that?"

Rachel thought about what Rae had just said and knew that she was right. She just didn't want to walk into a room where she knew that her classmates were laughing at her and taking pleasure at how much it had hurt to find out about Finn having sex with Santana.

"Fine, I'll go back but if one of them makes one of their comments about me, I am out of there and I won't be back," Rachel said as she stood up and walked over to the door. "Now I need to go and talk to Finn, let him know that he isn't the one that I am angry with. Although I wonder if you hadn't of came here and had him tell me the truth, would he have ever told me."

Rachel walked out of the room as Rae and Lucy looked at each other, knowing that Finn would have kept that secret for the rest of his life if it had meant keeping Rachel from being hurt. It had never even occurred to him that Santana would have told Rachel eventually and at the worst possible time to cause Rachel the most pain.

"This isn't over between them; they might still break up over this, Rae."

"I know but that isn't the part that scares me," Rae commented, before looking over at Lucy and saying what they both knew she was going to. "I love you, Lucy and you have become my friend in the last ten years but I don't trust your past self not to try to come between them, just so she can _**'get her crown'**_."

Lucy groaned in embarrassment at the memory of how vicious she had become in the latter part of her junior year, not giving a damn who she hurt, as long as she was the one being crowned Prom Queen. She had clung onto Sam like a possessive clinging vine, despite the fact that he had fallen for Mercedes and that she was developing strong feelings for Noah again as they had worked together to keep Rae from killing herself.

It had been at Prom when everything finally came to a shocking end. It was Kurt being crowned Prom Queen as a cruel joke that had led to her slapping Mercedes across the face right as Rae and Lauren Zizes had walked into the bathroom. It had taken all of the latter's strength to get Mercedes out of the bathroom and to keep her from retaliating while Rae had followed them, not even hiding her disappointment in how Lucy had been acting since Finn had died.

"I was a nightmare to be around and didn't give a damn that I hurt everybody around me, all so I could win a plastic crown that didn't mean shit when I got out into the real world."

"Now imagine if Finn had been alive at that time and the two of you would have gotten back together, especially since he was running from his feelings for me and pretending that he didn't still love me in the same way that I loved him. I think we both know that I would have been on the receiving end of that slap instead of Mercedes."

"I know. Although you wouldn't have tried to go for my throat and then told Finn what I had done the way Mercedes did with Sam. Finn wouldn't have dumped me the moment he took me home. We would have probably tried to continue to keep up the pretense that we were still a happy couple until something big like a death would have made one of us, most and likely him, come to our senses."

"Of course by that time, I would have been tired of fighting to get him back and resolved to think about my future on Broadway instead of romance."

"Do you ever miss it, Rae?"

"Miss what, Lucy?"

"Do you miss standing on a stage and performing in front of an audience that is in awe of your voice?"

"No, I don't, that girl died ten years ago with Finn."

Outside in the hallway, Rachel listened to the their conversation, alarmed at how both of them seemed to sense that Quinn would most and likely try to get Finn back, especially if they broke over the non-stop drama that Santana continued to cause for them.

A determination filled Rachel that was stronger than her driving need for fame on Broadway as she went down the stairs and walked over to where Finn was playing video games with Noah.

As soon as she walked away, Rae and Lucy glanced outside the door, smirking at the thought that Rachel had done exactly what they knew she would and eavesdrop on their conversation.

* * *

AN: Future Rachel and Quinn seem to have some kind of plan to keep Finn and Rachel together. I am planning on some fireworks between the latter and her past self, who will still act like she did in season 2 when it comes to the Prom and . I even have some plans for the Super Bowl episode. Now that Kurt is staying at McKinley, I am still trying to figure out how to bring Blaine into the story.


	6. Christmas Memories

New Directions had won Sectionals after an amazing duet between Finn and Rachel performing Time of My Life and a performance of Ain't No Way by Mercedes that had the audience on their feet. She'd had to step in after Santana had once again been rude in the green room. The only difference was Mr. Schue had a lower tolerance for it than before.

It was right before Christmas and Rae was standing on the stage in the auditorium amid a winter wonderland like she had come up with for Finn the first time around. Tears were in her eyes as she remembered his rejection of her and walking away without even accepting her gift of a song.

At least she had prevented it from happening this time around. The sight of Rachel and Finn holding hands as they had walked into the choir room to decorate it for Christmas had eased the ache inside her but it wasn't completely gone. She felt herself wanting to once again sing the song she had done before.

_**Greeting cards have all been sent**__**  
The Christmas rush is through**__**  
But I still have one wish to make**__**  
A special one for you**_

_**Merry Christmas, darling**_

_**We're apart, that's true**__**  
But I can dream**__**  
And in my dreams**__**  
I'm Christmasing with you**__**  
Holidays are joyful**__**  
There's always something new**__**  
But every day's a holiday**__**  
When I'm near to you**__**  
The lights on my tree**__**  
I wish you could see**__**  
I wish it every day**__**  
The logs on the fire**__**  
Fill me with desire**__**  
To see you and to say**__**  
That I wish you Merry Christmas**__**  
Happy New Year too**__**  
I've just one wish**__**  
On this Christmas Eve**__**  
I wish I were with you**__**  
The logs on the fire**__**  
Fill me with desire**__**  
To see you and to say**__**  
That I wish you Merry Christmas**__**  
Happy New Year too**__**  
I've just one wish**__**  
On this Christmas Eve**__**  
I wish I were with you.**_

Rae was so caught up in singing the song she had planned to sing for her Finn that she didn't notice Mr. Schuester come walking onto the stage until he had started to speak.

"That sounded amazing, Rae."

"Thank you."

"Does that song have a special meaning for you?"

"As you are aware, things happened a lot differently for me and Finn the first time around. Santana told me before Sectionals, Finn and I both did and said things to hurt the other yet I was the one crucified for it while he acted like he didn't do a damn thing wrong. That song was my attempt to get him back and he walked away from me instead of fighting for us. I love Finn but he can be a bit of a coward when it comes to dealing with his feelings. He sometimes prefers the easy route instead of dealing with his problems. Right before he died, my Finn was heading down the same path and acting like a hypocritical jackass in the process."

"What did he do?"

"He was in the process of going back to the one person that had hurt him and hadn't made one effort to apologize for the lies she had told him. She also never even apologized for how badly she had manipulated him into thinking that Beth was his child. He wouldn't forgive me no matter how much I apologized for cheating on him but didn't have a problem with encouraging Quinn to cheat on Sam with him. As much as I loved him, everything inside of me wanted to slap some damn sense into him. If he had survived and his mother had found out, she would have done it because when she found out that he had been making out with Quinn before he died, Carol wasn't happy. She and Lucy had a massive argument at Finn's wake that I had to pretend that I didn't know why because everybody else thought I didn't know about her and Finn."

Unknown to Rae and Mr. Schue, Finn had walked up and was listening from backstage, angry at her version of Finn for how stupid he had been.

"Wait until she purposely hurts you before you judge me."

Finn started and turned to face a transparent image that was identical to him. He knew that this was Rae's Finn, the one who had died.

"Given what she told me and Rachel, you weren't Mr. Innocent," Finn said angrily.

"She kissed Puck on fucking purpose, knowing it would hurt me."

Finn turned and faced his mirror image, wishing he could punch him.

"Oh like you fucking Santana because you were jealous over her being with Jesse? Or making out with Quinn while she was dating Sam? You were a hypocrite like I was and would have continued to be if it wasn't for her. Rae deserves more respect than that."

"Now you are learning and will be able to handle the bullshit that is coming your way."

"This was all a test?"

"Yep," Ghost Finn stated, smirking.

"Why the hell did you do that dude?"

"Even after I died, I found myself still roaming the halls of McKinley and have been with her ever since. For some reason, I was even sent back in time with her. I have been watching and waiting for the right moment to talk to you to prepare you for what happens when Quinn Fabray decides she wants something and doesn't give a damn that she is hurting other people as long as she gets her way."

"How did it start back up between the two of you?"

"There is an event coming up where you will be popular in the way you were before Glee Club. Listen carefully to what I am about to say next. **Don't get yourself in a situation where you are alone with Quinn even if it is in an empty hallway!"**

"Rachel was telling me something that she had overheard between Lucy and Rae where Quinn goes batshit over becoming Prom Queen. They seemed to imply if you hadn't of died, she would have gone after you instead of Sam and she would have been hateful to Rachel instead of Mercedes."

"They are right. You have dated her and know how she is when it comes to her popularity. Nothing and nobody else matters but Quinn and what she wants."

"I remember. Lucy doesn't seem to act that way so there is hope for her."

"Lucy had to help Noah make sure that Rae took care of herself and to stop her from trying to join me in death. Even she still learned that lesson the hard way and had to be given a harsh dose of reality to make her see how she was acting."

"Do you regret making out with her before you died?"

"Yes. I think a part of me thought if I could fix what happened with me and Quinn; things would be okay for me again. Maybe I wouldn't ache so much for Rachel if I was with a girl that I had loved and cared about."

"I did love Quinn but it is nothing like what I feel for Rachel or when I kiss her and it has only gotten stronger…"

"Since the two of you have become sexually active. At least you got to realize what it is really like with someone you love to realize what a mistake it was with Santana. I never got to find that out."

"I feel for Rae. Rachel seems to think she is gaining memories of things she has never done because of how many changes were made."

"She is but for all the ways my death destroyed the dreams of Broadway and fame that Rae had always had, she also became stronger. She knows things about the human body and saving lives that I could never do myself."

"I know. It was awesome the way she saved one of the guests at my mom's wedding when he had a heart attack and knew what to tell the paramedics about his condition before they took him to the hospital. The man's wife was calling Rae a hero and I could tell that Rachel was impressed by her."

Before Ghost Finn could respond, he disappeared as Rachel came walking to where Finn was standing. She leaned up to gently kiss him and he wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist, holding her tightly to him and gave himself over to the passion he always feels when he kissed her.

"Who were you talking to?" Rachel asked when they finally pulled away from each other.

"I don't know if you would believe me if I told you."

"Finn…"

"It was the ghost of the Finn that died. He was warning me about something that was coming and testing me on how I would handle it."

"I believe you, Finn. You might be able to see him because you are the same person but from a different time."

"Do you think Rae can see him?"

"Given that I didn't see him, I doubt it," Rachel said as tears filled her eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

"That has to be agony for him to see her and not be able to let her know that he is there; to see how much her life changed after his death."

Finn held her, realizing that she was right and looked over to notice that Ghost Finn was watching them. The sorrow in his eyes made Finn realize that Rachel was right and that somehow all of this had to be set right and that his own death had to be stopped.

* * *

AN: I hope that I didn't confuse anyone by adding the ghost of the Finn that died to the story and that Finn is the only one who can see him. I also wanted to put Merry Christmas Darling back into the events of the storyline because Lea Michele, despite the sadness of the break up storyline in Season 2, killed that song in a good way. So having Rae sing it as she remembered the first time she performed it was the only way to do it without having Finn and Rachel break up in this story.


End file.
